Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1887-12-06
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THE MUSEUM OF FRAUD.
SOME CURIOUS THINGS SEEN IN
THE MUSEE DE pOCTROl.

The MUSEE De tOCTROl.
The Thousand and One fraudulent Ways
by Which Srnugglers Cheat the French
Governmental Sleepy Yalet-The Pea
SAINTS Pumpkin-The Mummy.
Most Parisians imagine they know all the
museums of their capitai when once they
have visited the Louvre, the Luxembourg,
the Ciuny, the photographic, to say nothing
of the Musee Grevin and the dioramas Of the
fore. de Neuily! And yet there is a collec-
ton belonging to the state almost unknown,
and that very few have enjoyed the privilege
of seeing. 1t is the Musee de rOctroi, or,
more properly speaking, the museum Of
fraud. 1t illustrates the thousand and one
fraudulent ways used by slnugglers for cheat
ing the government.
Let us enter the museum. What a spec
tacle! What an incongluouS medley of
articles, many seemingly so out of place, and
yet all made for the same oEject-to rob the
state-and consequently the entity called "the
world and his wife"
Under the guidance of our cicerone we be-
gan an inspection Of the curiosites about Us,
and remarked with establishment among them
an enormous block of white marble which
must have required almost superhuman
strength to move, to say nothing of the cost.
We turned inquiringly to our guide, who
sn1led and asked us to touch the block OF
Carrara with our fingers. We obeyed, and
Imagine our surprise to find that the enor-
NOUS mass weighed less than a bundle of
feathers! It's history is as follows: \ freight
train arriving one day from sltaly and
carrying six squares of marble, a custom
house officer remarked an unusual indenta-
ton in one OF them, and suspecGing that
something was wrong, had the bright idea to
break oil a corner with the aid of a hammer
when, miracle! the marble was sheet iron and
hid $4,000 francs worth of Venice lace!
LOGS FOR TEE FIRE.
Here in this corner is a pie of logs, ready,
al appearances, for the FIRE Error. These
logs are Of metal, cleverly covered with bark,
each end looking as if it had been sawn of
They We're found filed with cigars Further
on rolls Of linen; hit them with your cane,
the sharp metallic sound viii prove that they
are simply cans for alcohol Our guide now
drew our attention to a quantity of dinner
plates, four dozen in each pile, only the upper
and under twelve being intact, the remaining
twenty-four having no bottom and fitted into
this long hole a zinc can for spirits.
At this moment we pointed out to our
clcerone q tall valet de pied in full livery,
seated in one corner, his arms crossed lis
head sunk forward on his chest, apparently
sound asleep. "Look at the doorkeeper,n we
remarked; 1.-THE intense heat has overcome
him, and even our conversation has failed to
wake him" TAP him on the shoulder" orr
friend slpilingiy answered. We a. once took
advantage OF the suggestion, and could not
restrain cry of horror, as the valet, losing
his equilibrium, rolled Oh to the floor
do not be frightened" we were told.
This nlannequin has done good service by
introducing suFreptItiously into the country
quantities Of alcohol. Feel him. he is made
OF zinc, the head and hands only are made of
wax, and SO perfectly initiated rs to cheat
nature herself. TO this cash in the skull we
owe the accident of his discovery and cap
ture
Look at these millstones," continued our
friend, They are tobacco BOXES, and these
'tournures' are made of India rubber to hold
eau de Vie. Admire this opulent breast
III zinc. It added to the charms of a
pseudo wet nurse, in reality a perfect
copy Of the skeleton woman, whose baby
Ia rubber one) nourished itself of the eighteen
there in the corner. made OF baudruche gold
beater's skim and spotted with blood, was
found Oh poor devil Of an engineer, killed
in g collision OF two trains The poor fellow
couldn't even drink the liquor he was snug
Cling in"
A POOR PARALYTTC.
"Guess the usage of these two bIadders
fastened together with carriers and this pair
of clTltcheS"
Il haven't an idea Of their USE"
"IU is very simple, however. \ poor para
lytic, crawling slowly and painfully along,
with aid Of these same crutches-hollow and
filled with tobacco-passed every day before
guards, carrying fifteen hters of wine, sub
ject 10 duty, under her skirts
Gas 10 this pumpkin present from an
octroi in NormaDdy-it passed to and fro
every morning for three months under the
noses of the 'octroyens,' among other vege-
tables, when its honest proprietor went to
market. Unfortunately the peasant omitted
TO change his fraudulent vegetable at the end
OF the pumpkin season, and it was discovered
one day filed with cider brandy
AS our interlocutor spoke we stopped much
puzzled before an ordinary looking coffin, on
which was pasted railroad bulletin.
An said our friend suddenly, "you
notice that curious object from Marsaillesl
During the cholera epidemic OF 1854 the en-
ployes of the administration noticed cart
on which was coffin covered with a heavy
pail pass the gate every day. The men I'M
covered respectfully before this victim Of the
terrible disease, and drew back holding their
noses out Of fear of the microbes. Time pass
ed, the cholera also, and still the cart with
its sad burden made its appearance daily and
at the same hour This regularity aroused
suspicion at last, and the fear of contagion I
having flown with the cause one OF the /.
guards lifted the pail and discovered, not a /
corpse, but a mummy composed Of cigars"
But should never finish were to attempt /
g description Of all the curiOsities to be seen I
in the museum.-From the Paris Figaro, /
by c. /. 3.
When is q Halter Not a Halter?
A well Known halter was riding uptown /
last night, snd engaged with a scholarly 4
neighbor in an animated conversation on the
obScurity OF Browning's poetry at Eagle
street young swell got on and took the seat
behind the halter, whom be at once recoC-
ni2ed as the man OF whom he rurrhssari his